QUOTE | “You could market research any product to death if you’re not careful.” – DICE GM Karl Magnus Troedsson, talking about how DICE has to filter fan feedback to help make the best game
Elsewhere in the business of video games this past week …
QUOTE | “We devote so much energy to the negative aspects of serving a technologically savvy audience – hacking, piracy, etc. – that it’s easy to overlook what a wonderful resource having a community that’s talented and passionate can be.” – Overwolf CEO Uri Marchand, arguing that modders are developers and should be treated that way
QUOTE | “We made a difficult game, and the fact that it was free made people suspicious, and rightfully so.” – Kitfox’s Tanya X. Short, developers of Shattered Planet, talking about how free-to-play isn’t always the best option for mobile games.
STAT | $1.04 billion – Amount of revenue World of Warcraft made in 2013 worldwide, making it the #1 MMO; Lineage 1 was #2, TERA: Online was #3, and EA’s Star Wars: The Old Republic was #4 with $165 million in revenue
QUOTE | “Developers will see mobile as a revenue stream they can only ignore at their peril.” – Olivier Voirin, VP of Sales in Europe for Mad Catz, explaining how “mobile is being taken very seriously as a platform for core gaming.”
QUOTE | “Most of our digital revenue comes from our brick-and-mortar stores.” – GameStop president Tony Bartel, talking about how GameStop took in $724.4 million in digital revenue for 2013
STAT | 106% – Amount that US retail sales of video game hardware jumped in June 2014 compared to June 2013, according to NPD; software declined 3% due to fewer new releases than last year
QUOTE | “A lot of that audience felt almost insulted that a company like Harmonix would be turning to Kickstarter.” – Alex Rigopulos, chairman and CCO of Harmonix, talking about how Kickstarter has become more difficult, perhaps especially for established developers
STAT | $3 billion – Amount that mobile game company Machine Zone is valued at as it raises a new round of funding; the company projects $600 million in revenue this year from its hit title Game of War: Fire Age
image via Shutterstock
